The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to medical imaging systems, and more particularly to Nuclear Medicine (NM) imaging systems which can be Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) imaging systems.
In NM imaging, such as SPECT imaging, radiopharmaceuticals are administered internally to a patient. Detectors (e.g., gamma cameras), typically installed on a gantry, capture the radiation emitted by the radiopharmaceuticals and this information is used to form images. The NM images primarily show physiological function of, for example, the patient or a portion of the patient being imaged.
While such systems have proven extremely useful at providing quality images with diagnostic value, further refinement is possible. Conventional SPECT imaging systems have limitations in design and/or operational characteristics. For example, in some instances additional hardware configurations are needed to increase the system flexibility and reduce costs.
In such a NM system with multiple detectors, obstructions may block the field of view of one or more detectors. Such obstructions may be caused by other detectors in the system. Systems and methods are needed to provide enhanced image quality while dealing with obstruction issues.